670/Maryland Manual

shall submit to the voters of the county at the next ensuing
general election the question whether the resolution shall
be approved or rejected. If in the referendum a majority of
those persons voting on this question vote for the resolu-
tion, the resolution is approved, and the county shall
become a code county under the provisions of this Article,
on the thirtieth day after the election. If in the referendum
a majority of those persons voting on this question vote
against the resolution, the resolution is rejected, and of no
further effect.

Provided that if at the next ensuing general election there
shall be submitted to the voters of the county a proposed
charter under Article 11A of this Constitution, the proposed
charter only shall be submitted to the voters at that next
ensuing general election. If the proposed charter is adopted
by the voters, this particular resolution to become a code
county shall not be submitted to the voters and shall have
no further effect. If the proposed charter is rejected by the
voters, the code question under this Article shall be submit-
ted to the voters at the general election two years later, and
no charter question under Article 11A shall be submitted to
the voters at that general election.

SEC. 3. Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
a code county may enact, amend, or repeal a public local
law of that county following the procedure in this Article.

SEC. 4. Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
the General Assembly shall not enact, amend, or repeal a
public local law which is special or local in its terms or effect
within a code county. The General Assembly may enact,
amend, or repeal public local laws applicable to code
counties only by general enactments which in term and
effect apply alike to all code counties in one or more of the
classes provided for in Section 5 of this Article.

SEC. S. The General Assembly, by law, shall classify
all code counties by grouping them into not more than four
classes based either uponpopulation as determined in the
most recent Federal or State census or upon such other
criteria as determined by the General Assembly to be
appropriate. Not more than one such grouping of code
counties into four (or fewer) classes may be in effect at any
one time, and the enactment of any grouping of code
counties into four (or fewer) classes repeals any other such
grouping then in effect. Code counties may be classified
only as provided in this section.

SEC. 6. A code county may enact, amend, or repeal a
public local law of that county by a resolution of the board
of county commissioners. The General Assembly may am-
plify the provisions of this section by general law in any
manner not inconsistent with this Article.

SEC. 7. Any action of a code county in the enactment,
amendment, or repeal of a public local law is subject to a
referendum of the voters in the county, as in this section
provided. The enactment, amendment, or repeal shall be
effective unless a petition of the registered voters of the
county requires that it be submitted to a referendum of the
voters in the county. The General Assembly shall amplify
the provisions of this section by general law in any manner
not inconsistent with this Article, except that in any event
the number of signatures required on such a petition shall
not be fewer than five percentum (5%) of the voters in a
county registered for county and State elections.

Article XI-F

SEC. 8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
Article, the General Assembly has exclusive power to
enact, amend, or repeal any local law for a code county
which (1) authorizes or places a maximum limit upon the
rate of property taxes which may be imposed by the code
county; or (2) authorizes or regulates the maximum
amount of indebtedness which maybe incurred by the code
county. Public local laws enacted by the General Assembly
under this section prevail over any public local laws enacted
by the code county under other sections in this Article.

SEC. 9. A code county shall not levy any type of tax,
license fee, franchise tax, or fee which was not in effect or
authorized in the code county at the time it came under the
provisions of this Article, until an express authorization of
the General Assembly has been enacted for this purpose by
a general law which in its terms and effect applies alike to
all code counties in one or more of the classes provided for
in Section 5 of this Article.

SEC. 10. All laws enacted by the General Assembly
and in effect when this Article was added to the Constitu-
tion shall remain in effect until amended or repealed under
this Constitution. Every public local law enacted,
amended, or repealed by a county under the provisions of
this Article prevails over the previous public local law,
except to the extent it is subject to an applicable law
enacted by the General Assembly.

ARTICLE XI-G.197

CUT OF BALTIMORE—RESIDENTIAL
REHABILITATION AND COMMERCIAL
FINANCING LOANS.19*

I.199 The General Assembly of Maryland, by public
local law, may authorize the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore:

(a) To make or contract to make financial loans to any
person or other legal entity to be used for redevelopment
or improvement of buildings or structures located within
the boundaries of Baltimore Citv which buildings or struc-
tures are to be used or occupied for residential purposes.

(b) To guarantee or insure financial loans made by third
parties to any person or other legal entity to be used for or
in connection with the rehabilitation, renovation or im-
provement of buildings or structures located within the
boundaries of Baltimore City, which buildings or structures
are to be used or occupied for residential purposes.

(c) To make or contract to make financial loans to any
person or other legal entity to be used for or in connection
with the purchase or acquisition of leasehold or fee simple
interests in buildings or structures, and for construction,
reconstruction, erection, development, rehabilitation, ren-
ovation, redevelopment or improvement of buildings or
structures, located within the boundaries of Baltimore City,
which buildings or structures are to be used or occupied for
commercial purposes.

(d) To guarantee or insure financial loans made by third
parties to any person or other legal entity to be used for or
in connection with the purchase or acquistion of leasehold
or fee simple interests in buildings or structures, and for
construction, reconstruction, erection, development, reha-
bilitation, renovation, redevelopment or improvement of
buildings or structures, located within the boundaries of